Daily Inspiration Quote by Vicente Fox

"There's no doubt that Mexican men and women full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States"

Vicente Fox, Statesman

About this Quote

Fox is trying to deliver a compliment that doubles as a political lever: Mexican migrants, he argues, are indispensable to the US economy because they take on the hardest, least desirable labor. The phrasing - "full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work" - is classic statesmanly elevation, meant to counter the stereotype of migrants as burdens. It frames migration not as charity or illegality but as necessity, even moral credit: people who work, belong.

But the quote’s power is inseparable from its blunt, combustible hierarchy. By saying Mexicans do work "that not even blacks want to do", Fox reaches for a familiar American script: the racialized ladder of labor, where different groups are cast as naturally suited to certain kinds of work. It’s a strategic appeal to US self-interest (your fields, kitchens, and construction sites run because of us) while also importing a divisive American racial comparison to make the point land harder. The subtext is transactional: respect our migrants because your economy relies on them; ignore them and you’re ignoring your own infrastructure.

Context matters. Fox governed during intense early-2000s debates over immigration reform and a post-9/11 tightening of borders, when Mexico sought a broader bilateral deal with Washington. His line aims to humanize Mexican workers and pressure the US politically. Yet it does so by casually sidelining Black workers and echoing demeaning assumptions about who will accept exploitation. The result is a quote that reveals the ugly mechanics behind "essential labor": praise that still depends on someone else being placed below.

Quote Details

Topic	Work Ethic
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About the Author

Vicente Fox (born July 2, 1942) is a Statesman from Mexico.

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